‘Temporary’ fence that cost council £75 a week finally ripped down after 14 years
People in Kent are rejoicing after a ‘temporary’ fence has been torn down after 14 long years.
A ‘temporary’ fence costing the council £75 a week is finally being torn down 14 years after it was erected.
Medway Council spent £50,000 on the blue fence to protect a footpath’ in 2009.
But after more than 10 years later the wood in Gillingham, Kent, has been dubbed an ‘eyesore’.
There have been several plans to make the wall safe and remove the fencing, but none came to fruition.
As the wall is backed onto by a row of private lock-up garages, there has been trouble reaching an agreement with the company which owns the garages.
Work finally began on Monday, July 3, to replace two sections of the wall, beginning with the removal of vegetation and demolition of several garages.
The project is expected to last 23 weeks and should be done around Christmas.
The first section of the wall being worked on is approximately 40m and the second is around 67m.
For the works to be completed safely, the footpath has been closed and a signed diversion route is in place for pedestrians.
Medway Council was tasked with overseeing the repairs but trouble getting access to the site delayed plans. The application was filed in February and approved in April.
The plans will see the retaining wall and five of the 15 garages behind it demolished and rebuilt, so the hoardings can finally be taken away.
A document submitted by the council said the wall had moved and was unsafe.
Former councillor Andy Stamp said: ‘It’s a road safety issue for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians; if drivers are turning out the bottom of Camden Road onto the dual carriageway the hoardings restrict visibility for people turning out, and if you’re a cyclist you have the same issue.
‘Also for pedestrians, because the hoardings are there, the footpath along that stretch of Pier Road is really narrow.’
In November, then Cllr Stamp posed a question to Medway Council over how much money it had spent on the fencing.
Cllr Gary Hackwell who was the portfolio holder for business management, revealed the council had spent £75 per week renting the hoardings.
Since then they would have cost another £2,000 of taxpayer money.
The Tory, who spoke on behalf of then-portfolio holder for front line services, Cllr Phil Filmer, said the safety benefits ‘far outweigh’ the cost of renting.
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